WHO'S THE MASTERMIND?

STACY

I don't know for how long I've been unconscious but when I finally come back to my senses, I blankly stare at the ceiling. I feel like all hope is gone and no strength is left in me.

I want to cry so much, but no tears drop. I'm too tired to even cry. It's sunny outside and I assume that it's already daytime, but I feel like dark clouds are covering the place.

My hand slowly and hurtfully reaches to my stomach where my child's heart should have been beating and it rests there for a while.

My eyes widen and I suddenly sit up on my bed when I feel it. A heartbeat....it's frail and low, but I certainly feel it.

I focus on my hearing and I'm right. The heartbeat is still there, slow but stead. My child is still here, he's not gone.

I'm suddenly rejuvenated as joy and relief overwhelms me.

This is indeed a miracle.

There's no other way, but a miracle. I whisper my thanks and then I notice that Maurice is beside me.

Again, my eyes widen as I remember what happened. He knows now... he knows that I'm pregnant and he knows that I put our child in danger. I wonder if he will be angry when he wakes up.

I feel guilty, of course, but there was no other way to heal Rose. Besides, who would have ever thought that our child could feel the pain too, I thought only I alone would.

I sigh and lie back down, getting closer to Maurice, unfortunately waking him up and like I perceived earlier, he suddenly gets up.

His eyes are wide in panic and he immediately turns to me.

“Stacy... our baby. I-I'm so--” He has just woken up but he seems like he's already going to break down. I quickly shake my head, taking his hand and placing it on my stomach.

This act must have confused him, but he complies. We stay still, making sure the silence reigns for him to hear clearly.

His eyes light up and he looks at me, disbelief written on his face. I smile widely and nod. “He's safe.” I say in a whisper as if anything louder will put a stop at the heartbeat once more.

He releases a deep breath of relief and quickly takes me into his arms. I chuckle and hug him back. However, he quickly pulls away and puts his hand on my stomach again. “He's still here, thank goodness.” He says in delight.

He sounds like heavy weights have just been lifted from off his shoulders and he can breathe again.

“I'm sorry I didn't tell you in advance...” I start apologizing, the guilt starting to creep in, but he shakes his head also and plants soft kisses at the side of my head.

“No, I know why you did it. It's for everyone's safety. But please, don't do anything like that again, you scared me to death. You have to be more careful from now on.” He says, heaving a heavy sigh of relief.

It really surprises me, that's for sure, since I didn't know he would take it this well. I even squint my eyes at him to see if he's just being passively aggressive, but no. He's being sincere.

I smile at him and nod. “I will, don't worry.”

******

When I finally feel better, I pay a visit to Rose who is now awake. I meet Sherry on my way there and coincidentally, she's also on her way to see Rose.

I quickly remember that she was there when I was breaking down so as we are walking, I hold her arm and stop her.

“You... you helped me with my child didn't you?” I ask her.

Sherry's eyes avoid mine as she chuckles hesitantly.

“Well, I'm glad it all worked out just fine.” She admits but she still sounds hesitant, making me wonder why. Other issues aside, I quickly hug her and start to thank her profusely.

“Oh, how can I ever repay you Sherry?” I say starting to get emotional all over a sudden.

“Then, you can consider my stay at your Pack as the payment. And don't worry about it, I was only doing what a warrior should be doing.” She says and smiles and her blue eyes reminds me of Maurice's.

That clears my worries away and I nod then I let go of her. We start walking towards Rose's room again.

“So if you don't mind me asking, how were you able to do that?”

Again, Sherry looks hesitant as she smiles sadly. “I'm not sure if you know, but you have heard that Alphas have their Alpha command tones. Right?” She asks first and I nod, of course I know. How can I forget that?

“According to the legends, the very first person who had the command tone was Vera. When I was a child, merely speaking was already commanding others around me. That's how I helped you and Maurice. I had to calm you two down first with my command and with the limited healing powers I have, I stabilized the child's heartbeat while talking to him and urging him to be strong.” She admits and smiles.

I can't help but feel amazed. No wonder people feel compelled to listen to her when she speaks. How cool is that?

“That's great Sherry!” I say, but I notice that she only nods. Maybe she doesn't like talking about it too much. We continue talking as we make our way to Rose's room and when we arrive and enter her room, at first she looks scared of us.

Rose has beautiful blonde hair which compliments perfectly with her green eyes. She's quite stunning. Why are these girls so beautiful?

Her skin is tanned, clearly used to the outside exposure as a rogue wolf. I can sense she raises all her guards when we enter the room. She's already sizing us up, readying herself for a fight, but that doesn't last long. I guess she must've realized that we don't mean any harm.

“You are...” She starts. She's definitely overwhelmed. Our sight is already confusing her. I smile at her and so does Sherry.

We both approach her.

“I'm Stacy, remember? I'm Wendy and I came here because I wanted to meet you. I needed to make sure you were safe.” I explain slowly.

She then turns to Sherry.

“Ah! So you are the one giving headaches to Joseph! Good for him, keep it coming.” She says and laughs.

At the mention of Joseph's name, Rose blushes madly, something that makes Sherry and I to look at each other and giggle. Something must've happened between them....she's already smitten!

Sherry proceeds to introduce herself and Rose stays quiet as she nods. It's still too much for her, I can see that so we give her the time she needs.

****

She then asks about the warriors, she asks about the Packs, she thanks me for healing her and finally, she asks about the stray wolves.

Rose is hesitant about it. “Do you know who is behind all of it?” She asks, but it doesn't come out as a question. It is as if she wants to confirm with us if we already know who it is.

Sherry shakes her head. “No. The four strongest Packs are meeting up to trace whoever it can be. It's already great that we have the three Alphas from the west, East and north. We're just waiting for Alpha Bernard, the Alpha of the strongest Pack of the north, who's arriving today from what Joseph told me.” She explains.

“Bernard?” Rose asks, making me to tilt my head questionably. Does she know him already?

“Do you know him?” I ask but the question seems to have caught her off guard and she immediately shakes her head, indicating no.

“No way! It's just my head that's hurting.” She says and smiles apologetically.

“Do you think you have an idea who might be behind the stray wolves?”

Rose's eyes widen as she looks back at me. She looks like she has just been caught red handed. She looks down, but ultimately nods very lightly.

My heart starts to pound but I remind myself to calm down. My baby still has to be safe no matter what!

“Yes, I might have an idea.” She confesses to our relief. I'm going to press on the matter, however, she looks so conflicted. She's unsure of what to do, she must've known the person and might possibly be close with him or her for Rose who is a strong and straight forward person to react this way.

Sherry looks towards me, a perplexed look cast over her face and shakes her head and I nod in agreement.

“That's great! Now, how about we leave all those matters behind and we go eat first? Let's wait for Alpha Bernard to arrive before we can start with all these affairs, all of us will be there. Besides, we still have to find the last warrior.” Sherry says enthusiastically.

I smile and get up from my seat, extending my hand to Rose.

Sherry is right, let's go and grab some food. We never know when we can get the chance to have a meal again!”

Rose looks at my hand for a while and I'm scared that she's going to reject me.

It suddenly reminds me of how I acted towards Maria when I first came in the Pack. Back when I wasn't used to kindness, back when a hand was a symbol that I was going to get hit or beaten up.

However, Rose ever so hesitantly takes my hand and that has me feel so relieved. I'm quite shocked when I see her look up at me and gives me a smile. She's indeed getting friendly and soon enough, she'll be totally used to us and our presence.